2015/01/01 by Jean‐François Hamel, Emaline M. Montgomery, Ruth Barnich +1 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Marine Biology and Ecology Research #Marine Ecology and Invasive Species #Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
paper · doi:10.1017/s1755267214001444
openalex publication_date 2015/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Specimens of the deep-sea scale worm Neopolynoe acanellae (Verrill, 1881) (Polychaeta, Polynoidae) were collected at depths between 466 and 1405 m in Canadian waters while still attached to their host, the pennatulacean coral (sea pen) Pennatula grandis Ehrenberg, 1834. The present records extend the northern latitude of occurrence of N. acanellae in North America by 17o (~2000 km) to include the northern continental shelf of Newfoundland and Labrador and the lower Arctic, off the southern coast of Baffin Island (Canada). Analysis of the worm's intestinal content confirmed the presence of sea pen soft tissues and sclerites, suggesting that this species feeds on its host and is therefore parasitic.